Harry Potter the House of Slytherin
by HeidiBug731
Summary: What if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin? How would he have influenced his fellow students and how would they have influenced him? Would he still have ties to Gryffindor House? A revisiting of the first Harry Potter book, rewritten as though Harry been sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.
1. The Sorting Hat

Author's Note: This story is an experiment, going through the first Harry Potter book and retelling the events as though Harry had been sorted into Slytherin. The idea is that Harry is still the same boy we know and love, and he's still going to get into the same kind of trouble, he's just in a different house. It will be interesting to see what changes occur from that simple switch.

The chapters of this fic directly correlate to the chapters of the book. I will summarize certain events with the assumption that you have read the book and know what is being talked about with the main reason being that I don't want to directly copy Rowling's work in order to convey events that will happen in the same manner. As such, chapter lengths will vary, but feel free to follow along with the book if you would like.

In trying to stick with canon, I have gathered a list of Slytherin students from both the books and the video games. You might recognize Terence Higgs as the Slytherin seeker from the first book. He's probably a seventh year in canon, but he fit my character concept, so I have stolen him and made him the age I need. Everyone else are either characters you know or characters I invented (using names from the video games).

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, _Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.

_"Not Slytherin, eh? said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that."_

* * *

"No?" said the Hat. "Well, I still think - SLYTHERIN!"

Harry felt his stomach plummet as the Slytherin table erupted in cheers. The sound felt strangely empty and unwelcoming. He could feel – or perhaps he only imagined; he was too ashamed to lift his gaze from the floor – the eyes of everyone in the Hall following him as he made his way to the green and silver table.

As he found a seat, Harry wanted nothing more than to sink into the bench and disappear, but an older girl with dark skin and hair sitting next to him suck out her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Zoe Accrington."

Harry shook her hand, and then quickly turned his gaze back to his knees. But the enthusiasm of the Slytherins was relentless, and Harry was forced to turn his chin up and gaze at his new classmates as one after one they pressed forward to greet him.

Not all the Slytherins were happy, though. Harry found Malfoy's gaze and the boy looked as though he was torn between whether or not to ask Harry if he'd sat down at the wrong table.

The feeling was mutual.

At length, Harry noticed the Sorting Hat was still sorting other students. Ron was up next, and Harry crossed his fingers under the table. Exactly what he was hoping for, he wasn't sure. As the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry felt a mixture of sadness and joy as Ron joined the red and gold table to sit with his brothers.

_At least he's in a good house_, Harry thought. But he couldn't help wishing it was Ron sitting next to him and not Zoe.

At last, McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took the stool and Sorting Hat away. Then Albus Dumbledore stood to welcome everyone to Hogwarts. As he sat back down, the dishes in front of Harry filled with food.

While he was piling his plate with a little bit of everything, Malfoy cried out, causing Harry to nearly drop his plate. A translucent, pearly-white figure had appeared in the empty chair beside Malfoy.

"Welcome to Slytherin, first years." said the ghost hoarsely. "I trust you will do Slytherin proud and help us win the House Cup once again."

Harry stared. He had hardly heard a word the ghost had spoken. His appearance was far too distracting - blank eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with appeared to be silver blood. No wonder Malfoy had cried out. Harry thought he would have done the same.

"The Bloody Baron," Zoe told him in a near whisper. "Best not to stare. He can be a bit cross."

"Why is he -?" Harry whispered back, disturbed by the blood stains.

"Best not to ask," Zoe said. She tapped his plate. "Eat."

Harry had completely forgotten his meal. Happy to have something to distract himself from the Baron, he dug greedily into his food.

As the Slytherin students ate, talk turned to their families. Malfoy spoke proudly about his father and mother, and Harry was pleased to see many students seemed to know of Malfoy's father and appeared uninterested in hearing Malfoy boast. Malfoy's spotlight was taken over when Blaise Zabini whose mother turned out to be a famously beautiful witch who was currently on her sixth marriage.

"Do you think this one will last?" asked Terence Higgs, a new first year.

"Doubt it," said Blaise. "All her previous husbands have mysteriously died and left her with a lot of money. This one will probably end the same."

Harry was shocked at the nonchalant way in which Blaise spoke, and no one seemed to have anything further to say.

"What about your family, Zoe?" Harry tried to break the awkward silence.

"Me?" she said. "My family's nothing special, Harry. What about yours?"

The table was shocked when Harry explained he'd been raised by muggles.

"Were they just _terrible_?" asked Zoe.

"Well, not all muggles are," Harry said, "but these were."

Harry was bombarded with questions, and he was a little uncomfortable about how interested everyone seemed to be in the Dursleys' horrible treatment of him and how they had tried to squash the magic out of him. He tried to explain that not all muggles were the same, but they didn't seem to listen when he told them about Mrs. Figg. He was relieved when the plates refilled and everyone was distracted by dessert.

After piling his plate again, Harry looked up at the High Table. Zoe pointed out Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House, and Harry felt a sharp pain shoot across his scar.

"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.

"What is it?" Zoe asked.

"N-nothing," said Harry, rubbing his forehead and watching Snape, who had turned his gaze away from him. What bothered Harry more than the pain was the cold feeling he'd gotten from Snape's look.

At last, the deserts disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up to give a few notices, including the third floor corridor being out of bounds. The school song was sang, and the first years stood to follow Gemma Farley, Slytherin prefect, as she led them from the Hall.

They followed her and the other Slytherin students down into the dungeons. The passages were so numerous and with several twists and turns and branches, that Harry wondered if he would ever be able to find his way back. At length, Gemma stopped at a stretch of bare stone wall.

"Take a good look around, first years," said Gemma, her dark braid falling over shoulder. "and remember this spot. There might not be much help for you if you can't find it later."

Harry didn't like the way she smiled, and he wondered how many first year Slytherin students had gotten lost in the corridors.

"Salazar!" Gemma said, and a concealed door in the stone slid open.

The Slytherin common room was long. The cool and damp atmosphere indicated that it was definitely underground. Round, greenish lamps hung on chains from the ceiling, and a fire crackled under an elaborately carved mantelpiece surrounded by high backed chairs. Gemma directed the first year boys down one corridor and the girls down another.

Harry came to a room with his name posted upon the door. He groaned when he saw he'd be sharing the room with Malfoy and Goyle. Also in the room would be Blaise and Theodore Nott. It seemed Crabbe and Terence would be in another room.

Their trunks had already been brought up. Harry located his at the foot of one of the four-poster beds hung with green, silk curtains. As he pulled on his pajamas, Harry noticed a soft lapping noise against the window.

Harry stepped to it and pulled back the curtain, "We're under the lake!" he said, surprised.

He heard a high pitched laugh coming from behind him and turned to see Malfoy getting into bed.

"_Of course_, we are," he said. "Hadn't you noticed?"

Malfoy dropped himself on his bed and pulled back the curtains, still chucking to himself about Harry's apparent stupidity.

Harry gazed about the room, Goyle was chuckling to himself as well, but neither Blaise nor Theodore seemed to care.

Harry took one last look at the murky water outside the window before closing the curtain and getting into bed himself. Before falling asleep, he thought of Ron and wished he had more pleasant company in his dorm room.


	2. The Potions Master

_"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"_

_At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling._

_"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"_

* * *

Harry's first potion's lesson did not go well. He lost two whole points from Slytherin: one, for his "cheek" and two, because Neville had managed to melt Seamus' cauldron and Snape had saw fit to blame him for it. _Why _did Snape hate him so much?

On top of it all, Harry hadn't managed to make many friends his first week. Zoe seemed to like him well enough, but she was two years ahead of him and in different classes. He would much prefer to befriend someone in his own year, but his options were very limited.

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Theodore Nott had formed a tight group. Blaise seemed to gather around them as well, though Harry thought he looked largely disinterested and bored whenever he saw him with them. Terence was the only one who seemed tolerable, and Harry often saw him sitting alone.

"Would you," Harry tried when he caught Terence in Slytherin common room after class. He felt very nervous. "Like to meet Hagrid with me around three?"

"Hagrid?" said Terence. "The half-giant?"

Harry nodded.

"Why?" asked Terence.

"He's . . . a friend of mine," said Harry, wondering if he was going to regret asking.

Terence looked around the room, as though wondering why Harry was asking him and not someone else.

"Alright," he said, sounding somewhat bewildered. "Sure."

Harry nodded, feeling relieved, then suddenly doubtful if he had made the right decision in inviting someone he hardly knew to come along.

Nevertheless, five till three, Harry and Terence walked across the grounds to Hagrid's hut.

"Thanks for coming," Harry said, feeling as though he should say something.

"Not a problem," said Terence, sounding slightly confused as he ran a hand through his light brown hair. Harry couldn't help but wonder if Terence had agreed to come along because he had been looking for a friend too.

Harry's knock on Hagrid's door was greeted by loud booming barks. "Back, Fang!" came Hagrid's voice. "Back!"

At length, Hagrid opened the door to let them in. He was holding the collar of an enormous black boarhound. "Make yerselves at home," he said once Terence had entered the one-room hut.

As soon as Terence had closed the door, Hagrid released Fang, who bounded straight at Terence and started licking his face. Terence seemed to take it well, laughing and patting the large dog's head.

"This is Terence," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large tea pot.

"Great to meet ya," said Hagrid, drawing back Fang and offering Terence and Harry a plate of rock cakes.

The rock cakes were impossible to eat, but Harry and Terence pretended to enjoy them anyway while Harry told Hagrid about his first week: the difficulty of his first lessons, sharing a room with Draco Malfoy, and Snape's apparent hatred of him.

Hagrid helped considerably in cheering Harry up, saying the Malfoy family was nothing but trouble and it was best he stayed away. He also insisted Snape couldn't hate him, but Harry wasn't sure Hagrid hadn't met his eyes.

"What 'bout you, Terence?" ask Hagrid. "What's yer family like?"

"Mum's in the ministry," said Terence, retrieving a rock cake he had tried to feed Fang. "Dad's a muggle." He looked sideways at Harry and smiled. "Don't tell anyone."

Harry smiled back. With so many other Slytherin's proudly boasting of their pure-blood heritage, Harry could understand why Terence kept to himself.

Terence looked away and started telling Hagrid more about his mother. It was then that Harry noticed the newspaper clipping on Hagrid's table about the break-in at Gringotts.

When Harry questioned Hagrid about it, Hagrid brushed him off. Harry read the article again. He was sure the package Hagrid had retrieved was exactly what someone else had tried to steal, though he had no idea what the package might have been.

"Thanks for inviting me," said Terence as he and Harry left Hagrid's. Both their pockets were full of rock cakes they hadn't been able to refuse.

"Not a problem," said Harry, glad something seemed to have worked out for the better this week.


	3. The Midnight Duel

_Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy._

* * *

Malfoy seemed to find Harry's new friendship with Terence hilarious. "Glad to have found someone who's as much of a loser as you, Potter?" Malfoy snickered.

"Sorry," Harry said to Terence as they made their way to class. "You don't have to hang out with me, you know."

"It's not a problem," said Terence. "I'd much rather hang out with you than Malfoy."

Harry and Terence did their best to ignore Malfoy as best they could. It was easier when Zoe was around; Malfoy didn't seem to want to risk messing with a third-year. But Harry still often found it hard to resist giving Malfoy a punch to the face.

"It's not worth it," Terence would tell him. "You'll just get in trouble. Let him run his mouth."

Terence had a good point, but Harry still felt it was only a matter of time before he couldn't hold himself back anymore.

Such a time came at flying lessons with the Gryffindors on Thursday. Strangely, it wasn't even Harry Malfoy was bothering. Neville had an accident on his broom and broke his wrist. As Madam Hooch took him off to the hospital wing, Malfoy began his taunting, and then he picked up Neville's rememberall from the ground.

"Give it here, Malfoy," said Harry.

Everyone stopped talking, and Malfoy smiled. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up a tree?"

"Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, lunging at Malfoy. But Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off.

Harry grabbed his broom.

"_No!_" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."

Harry ignored her.

"Harry -" tried Terence.

"No!" said Harry as he kicked off from the ground.

Malfoy had boasted for days as to his flying ability, and he hadn't been lying. He had clearly flown before, but somehow Harry knew what he was doing and flew straight at Malfoy, nearly knocking him off his broom.

"Catch it if you can, then!" shouted Malfoy, throwing the glass ball.

Harry dove after it, pulling out of the dive just a split second before he hit the ground, clutching the ball in his fist.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry felt his sprits sink as Professor McGonagall came running toward him. Terence tried to explain the situation, but McGonagall would not have it. She ordered Harry to follow her as she started off toward the castle.

Harry had to jog to keep up with her. She didn't say a word to him as they traveled through the castle doors and up the marble staircase. Harry was certain he was about to be expelled.

At last McGonagall stopped at what Harry could only assume was her office, and she ushered him inside.

"I'm very disappointed, Potter," she told him. "I have never _seen_ such reckless flying."

Harry tried to think of something to say to defend himself, but his voice wasn't working.

"That said," she continued. "If you were in my house, I'd put you on our Quidditch team."

Harry stared at her. He hadn't a clue what Quidditch was, but he was more amazed at the tone in her voice that seemed to imply he wasn't going to be expelled.

"That was an amazing display of natural ability," she told him. "I take it that was your first time on a broom?"

Harry nodded, not sure if it was safe to smile or not.

"I'm afraid I do have to punish you," she said, wiping her glasses on the sleeve of her robe. "So, thirty points from Slytherin -"

Harry's spirits dropped slightly, but a negative thirty points was certainly better than never seeing Hogwarts again.

She offered a rare smile. "And don't let me catch you flying outside of the Quidditch field or your lessons again."

Harry nodded. "Thank you, professor." Relieved, he fled the room.

* * *

"You're not expelled?" asked Terence at diner, surprise and relief apparent in his voice.

"I think she was impressed," said Harry. "Lucky McGonagall's a Quidditch fan."

"Lucky is right!" said Terence with a shy of relief. "I can't believe -"

"Having a last meal, Potter?" ask Malfoy as he approach the table, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "When are you getting the train back to the muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy.

And before Harry knew it, he was agreeing to a wizard's duel and Terence had volunteered to be his second, neither of which Harry knew anything about and Terence had to explain to him.

"It will be fine," Terence told him. "Neither of you knows any spells, so if worse comes to worse, you can just punch him."

* * *

Harry stayed up listening to his roommates fall asleep, all except for Malfoy who Harry knew was also lying awake waiting for the right time to sneak out of the dormitory.

Harry was starting to have doubts about this duel. He'd nearly been expelled earlier. What if McGonagall caught him sneaking around? And he hadn't exactly made himself popular among his fellow Slytherin's for losing thirty points for sticking up for a "sniveling Gryffindor."

Although, to hear Zoe tell it, Harry's death-defying dive was the talk of the common room. Apparently a number of people were impressed, but no one was going to say so to Harry's face. He assumed that didn't bode well for him. Still, this was his chance to finally beat Malfoy one on one, and he wasn't going to miss it.

At nearly half passed eleven, Malfoy crawled out of bed and left the room. Harry followed, only to be stopped by the voice of Blaise Zabini.

"You're not seriously going, are you?" Apparently Blaise hadn't been asleep after all. He poked his head out from behind the curtains.

"Of course I'm going," said Harry.

Blaise gave a snort and pulled his head back behind the curtain. Harry could hear him turning over in the bed.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You honestly think Draco's going to fight fair?" came Blaise's voice from the bed.

"Well, I'm not going to let him call me a coward for not showing up," said Harry.

Blaise poked his head out again. "If you were smart, you'd go back to sleep and let Malfoy take the rap for wandering around the castle at night. I'd bet that's exactly what he's trying to do to you anyway."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Harry slowly.

Blaise lay down again, hiding his face from view. "Maybe I like that you've shaken things up."

Harry thought for a moment. "Do you actually like hanging out with Malfoy?"

Blaise didn't answer right away. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You just seem so bored whenever you're around him or his friends."

Whatever Blaise's answer might have been, Harry would never know. At that moment, Terence knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Harry, come on. We're going to be late."

As they made their way out of the common room, Harry told Terence what Blaise had told him.

"You think he's telling the truth?" asked Terence. "About Malfoy setting you up?"

"I think he might be," said Harry.

"But that's completely unsportsmanlike!" said Terence, to whom apparently such a thing was unthinkable. "And why should we trust Blaise anyway? He's always hanging out with Malfoy."

"I don't think he actually likes Malfoy very much," Harry told him.

They didn't talk after they exited from the stone wall. As they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors, Harry worried about running into Filch or a prefect. They were lucky, though, and made it to the trophy room without incident.

But Malfoy wasn't there.

Harry pulled out his wand, expecting Malfoy to jump out at him from the shadows.

"I bet Blaise set you up," Terence whispered to him. "Made you stop to talk to him so Malfoy could get a head start and hide somewhere."

Harry began to wonder if that were true, but the minutes crept by. If Malfoy had planned a surprise attack, he was nowhere to be seen.

And then they heard a voice coming from the other room. "Sniff around, my sweet. They might be lurking in a corner."

"It's Filch!" hissed Terence. "He _did_ set you up!"

"Run!" Harry hissed back.

They headed from the room as swiftly as possible. As they were halfway through a long gallery of suits of armor, someone toppled a suit over behind them. Harry just managed to catch a glimpse of blonde hair, but he had enough sense not to double back. Through the clashing of the armor, Harry could hear Filch's howl of triumph. He was sure to find them now.

He and Terence ran down one corridor after another, without any idea where they were going. They tore through a tapestry into a secret passage way. It was here they stopped to catch their breath.

"I think we lost him," Terence panted.

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Malfoy burst into the passage, followed by Crabbe. Apparently, after knocking over the suit of armor, they had been running from Filch as well. Though from the look on Malfoy's face, he hadn't expected to run into Harry and Terence.

"Malfoy, you -!" Terence leapt at him before Harry could stop him. They tumbled past Crabbe and out from behind the tapestry. Harry and Crabbe hurried after them.

"Stop it!" Harry yelled, grabbing Terence by his robes. "We don't have time -!"

"Ickle firsties!" cried a voice.

"Oh, no," Harry moaned.

Peeves cackled as he came into view. "Oooh! Firsties out of bed!"

"Go away, Peeves," Harry tried. "Please, you'll get us into trouble."

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves sang.

"Bugger off!" demanded Malfoy, who swung at the poltergeist.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

The four of them ran it for it, straight down the hall until they smacked into a door, and it was locked.

"We're done for!" moaned Malfoy, pulling hopelessly at the door.

Terence shoved him aside, and pointed his wand at the door. "_Alohomora!_"

The lock clicked and the door swung open. They piled through and shut it quickly. Harry and Terence pressed their ears to the door, listening. But Filch never tried the door they came through, and they heard him yelling down the hall after Peeves.

Harry looked at Terence. "Alohomora?"

Terence shrugged. "When I didn't have anyone to talk to the first week, I read ahead."

Harry could have laughed, but there had been too many close calls tonight. And most of them had been due to Malfoy.

Harry and Terence turned around to give the boy his dues, but Malfoy was staring wide-eyed and opened mouthed above him.

Harry had been wrong; they weren't in a room. They were in the forbidden corridor. Malfoy, and now Terence and Harry, were staring into the eyes of a monstrous dog - a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. And it had three heads.

The dog was standing still, staring at them, apparently as surprised as they. But then it started growling, three mouths started drooling over large yellowish fangs.

Harry found the doorknob, and they all pushed through, tumbling out. Harry slammed the door shut, and they all ran back to the Slytherin common room without encountering Filch or Peeves.

"What is that thing doing in a school?" Terence demanded once they had caught their breaths.

Harry didn't know what to say. Malfoy also remained silent.

"A door," said Crabbe.

They all turned to look at him.

"There was a door," said Crabbe again, "at its feet."

"What were you doing looking at its feet?" asked Malfoy, his voice unusually high. "It had _three_ heads!"

Crabbe shrugged, then turned to make his way to the dormitories. After a moment, Malfoy seemed to realize he was alone with Terence and Harry.

"Well, uh," he said, taking a slow step backward. Then he turned and hurried off in the direction Crabbe had gone.

Harry and Terence followed slowly. They simply didn't have the desire or the energy to punish Malfoy anymore. But, as Harry climbed into bed, he thought he had a pretty good idea of where the package Hagrid had retrieved from Gringotts was.


	4. Halloween

_There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them._

* * *

Harry returned Neville's rememberall at breakfast the next morning.

"Thanks," said Neville wondrously, perhaps a little surprised that a Slytherin had thought to return it to him. Then again, it may have been that he had simply never thought he'd see the object again.

Regardless, the Gryffindors were appreciative.

"That was a wicked dive, Harry!" Seamus greeted enthusiastically.

"Thanks," said Harry a little sheepishly. He was still amazed at the fact McGonagall hadn't expelled him.

Ron waved from further down the table, and Harry waved back, suddenly realizing there was a lot he wanted to tell him about what they had discovered regarding the break in at Gringotts. He'd have to send him an owl later.

Malfoy had nothing to say about his visit to the Gryffindor table when Harry returned to the Slytherins. In fact, Malfoy didn't say a word to him the whole meal nor even glace in Harry's direction. It was almost as though Malfoy were avoiding him, afraid that another taunt or challenge would result in another horrifying encounter with some monstrous creature.

If Malfoy was ignoring him, that was perfectly fine with Harry. But not everyone was pleased with Malfoy's new behavior.

"What actually happened?" asked Blaise one morning after signaling for Harry to hold back and wait for everyone else to leave the dormitory for the Great Hall.

"Didn't Malfoy tell you?" asked Harry.

"All he said was that he had this grand plan for getting you expelled, but then Peeves showed up and ruined everything." Blaise shook his head. "If that's the truth, I'll eat my hat."

Harry told Blaise about waiting in vain for Malfoy in the trophy room, Filch's appearance, Malfoy knocking over the suit of armor, Peeves finding them, and their run-in with the three headed dog in the forbidden corridor.

"That's insane," said Blaise, and Harry thought he heard a tone of admiration in his voice. "Why would they have something like that locked up in the corridor?"

Harry shrugged. He didn't fully trust Blaise enough to fill him in completely.

And yet it seemed in light of recent events, Blaise was becoming more and more annoyed with Malfoy. As he got back into the habit of taunting, once or twice Harry caught Blaise heaving a heavy sigh. He swore he'd even seen Blaise roll his eyes. Yet, for all his apparent annoyance, Blaise continued to be Malfoy's friend. Harry didn't understand it.

"You know you don't have to hang out with Malfoy if you don't like him," Harry told Blaise at one point. But Blaise had only shaken his head without offering any explanation.

"It's because he's like Malfoy," Terence suggested. "He thinks he has to be better than everyone else."

But Harry seriously doubted that was the case. He tried being friendly toward Blaise, even waving to him in the hall as he passed Malfoy and the rest of his gang. But Blaise just ignored him.

"I really wish you wouldn't, Potter." Blaise told him one night.

"Why?" asked Harry. "You don't seem to have a problem talking to me when no one else is around."

Although Blaise wouldn't give him an answer, Harry thought he noticed some descent forming between Blaise and Malfoy as Blaise's attitude over the next few weeks seemed to shift from boredom to annoyance to frustration.

In Charms class, while they were attempting to make feathers fly, no one was surprised when Hermione Granger was the first to get hers in the air. Terence was second to raise his feather, and Harry was starting to suspect that he had a natural ability for charms.

As Hermione and Terence got their feathers into the air, Harry heard Malfoy mutter something under his breath. He couldn't hear the words, but from the tone it had sounded very rude.

At this point Blaise slammed his fist on the table. "Shut up, Malfoy!"

The class went silent.

Blaise glanced around the room, realizing everyone was looking at him. Uncomfortable, he gathered up his things and fled the room.

"Carry on!" cried Professor Flitwick as the class broke out into whispers. "Continue the lesson."

"What was that all about?" Harry asked Terence once the class ended.

"Who cares?" said Terence, who didn't understand why Harry was interested in whether or not Malfoy and Blaise were on good terms. Harry had to remind himself that Blaise had never talked to Terence like he had with Harry on a number of occasions.

Blaise didn't show up for their next class, and near the end of the afternoon, Malfoy had disappeared as well only to show up later at the Halloween feast.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked. Malfoy was sporting a busted lip.

"Mind your own business, Potter!" Malfoy snapped, turning his face from view. But others at the table had noticed as well. "If you must know, I bit it."

Harry didn't buy it for a second, but there wasn't much he could do about his suspicions now. So Harry helped himself to the excellent food.

Just as he was digging into a baked potato, Professor Quirrell came running into the hall.

"Troll – in the dungeons!"

The hall exploded into chaos. Prefects gathered students to lead them to the dormitories.

As Gemma began ushering the Slytherin first years out of the hall, Harry grabbed Terence's arm. "Quick. If you had gotten into a fight, and you didn't want anyone to know, where would you hide?"

"I don't know," said Terence, extremely confused. "The bathroom?"

Gemma and the other prefects were corralling the Slytherin students in the entrance hall while the teachers searched the dungeons.

"Come on," said Harry, finding a place to break off and join the Gryffindor students as the headed up the stairs.

"What?" said Terence.

"Blaise," said Harry, "He doesn't know about the troll."

Terence let out a groan of frustration, but followed Harry anyway.

As they broke from the Gryffindors and hurried down a side corridor toward the bathrooms, they heard footsteps. Hiding behind a stone statue, they saw Snape appear and then disappear from view.

"Why isn't in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?" Harry whispered.

Terence shrugged.

Harry moved from behind the statue to follow Snape's footsteps down the corridor. "He's headed for the third floor."

"Harry, do you smell that?"

They heard the troll before they saw it. It was a gargantuan thing, with limbs large are tree trunks, grey skin, and it was dragging a wooden club. The troll entered a room, and Harry and Terence locked it inside.

That's when they heard the scream.

Horror stricken, Harry realized they had reached their destination after all. "It's the girl's bathroom!" He wrenched the door open and pushed his way inside.

Hermione Granger was shrinking against the opposite wall, trying to make herself smaller as the troll advanced. Debris lay scattered along the floor, the troll apparently enjoying itself as it smashed the bathroom sinks.

As Harry and Terence began throwing debris at the troll, Blaise came running into the room, apparently having heard the commotion from the boy's bathroom. His nose was crocked and appeared to be broken.

"Help!" Harry yelled at him, gesturing toward the troll and Hermione.

Blaise joined Harry and Terence and picked up a pipe. "Oy!" he yelled as he threw it at the troll. His voice sounded nasally.

The troll didn't seem to notice the pipe hitting it, but it heard the yell and turned toward Blaise. Harry ran around behind the troll and tried to pull Hermione to her feet, but she was too stunned to move.

The troll continued advancing toward Blaise and Terence, neither of whom knew what to do.

Harry did the only thing he could think of and jumped onto the troll's neck, simultaneously and accidentally shoving his wand up its nose.

The troll flailed as it tried to shake Harry. As he hung on for dear life, he could hear Blaise and Terence yelling below.

"The flying charm!" yelled Blaise.

"What?" yelled Terence.

"The flying charm!" Blaise yelled again. "At the club! Do it now!"

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The troll's club rose into the air and smacked it on the head. The troll toppled over onto its face, and Harry rose to his feet.

"Is it dead?" asked Hermione as she managed to rise from the wall.

"I don't think so," Harry said.

There was the sound of running footsteps, and Professor McGonagall, followed by Snape and Professor Quirrell, came running into the room. Harry thought McGonagall looked even angrier than when she'd caught him flying. This time, he couldn't count on her affinity for Quidditch to save them.

"Explain yourselves!" she demanded.

Harry tried to think quickly. They were surely in trouble. How could he explain that they had sneaked away to find Blaise who had apparently gotten into a fist fight with Malfoy? None of his options seemed good.

And then Hermione spoke.

"It was my fault," she said.

Harry listened in amazement as Hermione explained that she had gone looking for troll on purpose and that Harry, Terence, and Blaise had rescued her. McGonagall took five points from Gryffindor, and Hermione headed back to Gryffindor tower.

"As for you three," she said, then she paused. "Severus, they are in your house."

Snape waved his hand. "By all means."

Harry was even more flabbergasted when McGonagall awarded each of them five points. The look on Snape's face spoke clearly that was not what he had been expecting.

"And I suggest," said McGonagall, turning to Blaise. "You get that looked at by Madam Pomfrey.

Blaise nodded and headed off toward the hospital wing. Harry and Terence were dismissed to the Slytherin common room.

The common room was noisy. Everyone was eating off of plates that had been brought up. Suddenly staving, Harry and Terence joined in.

Eventually, Blaise returned from the hospital wing, his nose now back to normal. He walked right up to Harry and Terence. "That was wild, Potter."

"Good thinking," said Terence.

"The club kinda reminded me of Crabbe's fist as it came toward my face."

There was an awkward silence between the three of them.

"Thanks," they all said at once.

Blaise pushed passed them to get some food, but from that moment the people he counted among his friends had changed.


	5. Quidditch

_Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473._

* * *

"Appearances are everything, Harry," Blaise told him one morning. "Have you tried to do anything with your hair?"

"I have tried," said Harry, "but it always sticks up in every direction."

Blaise insisted on running a wet comb through Harry's hair until they had spent considerably more time in the washroom than Harry usually did and his hair was so wet it looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower.

"Well," said Blaise, standing back and looking at his handy work. "There's nothing for it. You'll just have to shave it."

Blaise's own hair was shaved to less than an inch. Harry thought it did look nice, the tight curls twisted closely to his head, making it look soft and manageable. For a moment, Harry thought doing the same to his own head might not be too bad. But then he remembered the night Aunt Petunia had insisted on shaving him bald, leaving only his bangs to hide his scar.

"I think I'll just leave it as it is for now." Harry told him, and he hurried from the room before Blaise could suggest something else.

"Are you sure we want him as our friend?" asked Terence at breakfast, only half joking after Blaise had bemoaned the state of their robes and pointed out all the grime under Terence's fingernails.

Although Blaise's nitpicking could be very annoying, Harry and Terence found that over time as they explained to Blaise that appearances didn't matter as much to them, Blaise seemed to relax more around them, and he was much more tolerable for it.

With Novemeber came Quidditch, and Harry was reliant on Blaise and Terence to explain the game to him.

It seemed simple enough; three types of balls and four types of players. The keeper guarded the goals and prevented the chasers, three on each team, from scoring with the large red ball, called the quaffle. The beaters, two on each team, hit the two large grey balls, called bludgers, away from the players on their own team and toward the players on the other team in an attempt to knock them off course. And the seeker looked for and attempted to catch the snitch, a small gold ball that was worth one hundred and fifty points to the team that caught it.

Harry was fascinated with the sport and eager to see it played. While he waited for the first match of the season to come around, he checked out _Quidditch Through the Ages _from the library.

It was as he was returning to the dormitory that he passed Professor Snape in the hall. Harry could see that he was having some trouble climbing the stairs.

"Carry on, Potter," Snape demanded as Harry slowed his walk.

Harry hurried passed and stopped to peer around the corner as he rounded the corridor. There could be no doubt that Snape was limping.

He had nearly forgotten all about Snape since the battle with the troll, but now he remembered how Snape had headed for the third floor while the rest of the teachers had been in the dungeons.

"You think he tried to get past that dog?" asked Terence as Harry filled him in when he got back to the common room.

"I bet he let that troll in as a diversion," said Harry, "but he got himself bitten."

"Why would anyone go near that thing?" asked Blaise.

"We think it's guarding something valuable," said Harry as he filled Blaise in with what he and Terence had discovered.

But try as they might, they couldn't come up with any ideas as to what the package Hagrid had retrieved might be.

* * *

At last, the quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor came. Harry, Terence, and Blaise arrived at the stands early to get a good seat. Both Blaise and Terence brought binoculars, and Harry became keenly aware that he didn't own any.

"You should be able to see just fine," Terence told him, gesturing at the goal posts which were the same height as the stands. "It's just every once in a while things might get a little difficult."

Harry's worry vanished as he watched the red and green teams of players step onto the quidditch field. The players mounted their brooms, and Madam Hooch blew on her whistle. The stands erupted in cheers and applause as the players took to the air.

"Go, Slytherin!" Harry yelled, suddenly filled with pride for his house.

Gryffindor got the quaffle first, but Slytherin quickly took it from them and nearly scored, the Gryffindor keeper, Oliver Wood, blocking the throw. From there, Gryffindor took the quaffle again, but Katie Bell - one of the chasers - was hit with a bludger from one of Slytherin's beaters. She dropped the quaffle and it was picked up by Slytherin again.

Harry was on his feet, unable to sit, as he watched Adrian Pucey, the Slytherin chaser, race toward the Gryffindor goal posts. But he was blocked by a bludger that was hit in his direction. Gryffindor took the quaffle again and scored with it.

Harry groaned, nearly dropping back into his seat. Terence gave him a nudge with his elbow. "Keep an eye out for the snitch."

Harry had been so wrapped up in the action, he hadn't thought to look for the snitch. Drawing his eyes from the players, he cast his gaze around the field. It was then he saw a small streak of gold stream passed Adrian Pucey.

"Was that the snitch?" came Lee Jordan's voice over the stands as he announced the game.

Harry had lost the gold the ball, but the Slytherin and Gryffindor seekers dove. Harry gripped the rail tightly. It was impossible to tell which seeker would reach the ball first.

"Foul!" yelled Terence as Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, had flown directly into the Gryffindor seeker, blocking him from reaching the snitch.

"Foul!" came a near unified called from the Gryffindors.

"Terence," said Zoe, who had joined them in stands. "You are calling foul against your own team."

"Well, he cheated," said Terence.

"Yes, but we're winning," said Zoe.

"You have no capacity for winning if you have to cheat to do it," Terence replied.

"He nearly knocked the Gryffindor seeker out of the air," said Harry, whom was on Terence's side.

Even Blaise agreed. "It doesn't look every good on anyone if you can't play a clean game."

Zoe looked sour, but she didn't say anything.

"Harry-" Terence passed him the binoculars and pointed. Hagrid was waving at them from the Gryffindor section of the stands.

"Come on," said Harry, gesturing toward Terence and Blaise.

"You want us to go over with the Gryffindors?" asked Blaise, hesitating.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Come on."

Reluctantly it seemed, Blaise followed.

Harry greeted Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione as he reached them. Blaise appeared a little uneasy with his surroundings, but the Gryffindors were all welcoming. With the introductions and greetings over, they all turned back to watch the game.

Slytherins were in possession of the quaffle again, and Harry was flooded in a sea of groans as the game ended with Slytherin catching the snitch, at two hundred and ten points to twenty.

Ron was in a foul mood, so he turned down Hagrids invitation to join him for tea at his hut. Hermione followed after Ron and the other Gryffindors, so it was just Harry, Terence, and Blaise who joined him.

As they were exiting the stands, Harry couldn't help but notice Snape's limp once again as he left the pitch.

"I wish I knew why he wanted to get passed that three-headed-dog," Harry muttered out loud.

"Who told you about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid.

"_Fluffy_?" said Terence.

"Well, 'course," said Hagrid. "He's mine." He came close to telling them exactly why Dumbledore had needed a three-headed guard dog, but stopped himself just in time. "Don't ask me. It's top secret!"

"But Snape's trying to steal whatever it's guarding," said Harry.

"Rubish!" said Hagrid.

And no matter how Harry explained about the troll or Snape's limp, Hagrid remained unconvinced.

"It's none of yer business!" said Hagrid in response to Harry's pressuring. "Yeh forget about it. It's dangerous. Whatever that dog is guarding is between Dumbeldore an' Nicolas Flamel."

"Nicolas Flamel!" said Harry in triumph. "Who is he?"

Hagrid refused to say another word.


	6. The Mirror of Erised

_Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words: Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

* * *

Christmas was on its way. The Slytherin common room remained surprisingly warm compared to the rest of the Hogwarts dungeons. Snape's classes were particularly freezing. But the Slytherin common was insolated on one side by the lake and kept warm by the constantly running fireplace on the other.

Harry was quite excited for the holidays to start. For the first time, he would not be spending Christmas with the Dursleys. It also seemed he and Blaise would have the common room to themselves - everyone else going home to see their families. Blaise's mother had sent him a letter, explaining that she wanted the time to spend with her husband, which Blaise seemed unhappy about. But Harry knew better than to ask him why.

Not that he'd had much time to dwell on it anyway. He, Blaise, and Terence were spending as much time as they could in library, searching for anything they could find on Nicolas Flamel. But the search was proving quite difficult in that they hadn't had any luck. Harry was taking a methodical approach to searching, choosing books he thought Flamel might feature in, such as _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century_, or _Notable Magical Names of Our Time_. But no matter what book he tried, it seemed as those Flamel wasn't important enough of a figure to be in any of them.

Terence, frustrated by the search, had taken to pulling books off the shelves at random. Blaise would often walk down the countless ales of shelves, staring up at them as though hoping they might divulge to him which book was the right one to grab. Harry had even tried sending Hermione an owl. But even with her reputation as a know-it-all, she wrote back telling him she had know idea who he was. But she promised to look when she got the chance.

"You'll keep looking while I'm gone?" asked Terence as the three of them headed down to lunch.

Harry and Blaise assured him that they would, though Blaise seemed rather unenthusiastic at the idea.

"Can't we spend the holidays not doing homework?" Blaise would ask Harry once everyone had left and they had the common room to themselves.

"Don't you want to find out what that dog's guarding?" said Harry.

Blaise shrugged. "I did," he said. "But what does it matter? It's guarded. Snape hasn't tried again, and this is too much work for just plain curiosity."

Harry didn't say anything, but he secretly thought that Blaise had a point. "What would you like to do instead?"

Blaise spent the evening trying to teach Harry how to play Wizard's Chess. Harry wasn't very good, and he thought he might do a little better if the pieces would stop trying to give him advice. Once both Harry and Blaise had given up on chess, they dreamed up ways of having Malfoy expelled and toasted marshmallows over the fire. By the time Harry went to bed that night, he had quite forgotten all about Famel.

He was quite surprised when he awoke the next morning to find a pile of presents under his bed. Blaise was already busy tearing through his much larger pile of gifts.

Hagrid had gifted Harry a whittled flute, and his aunt and uncle sent him a fifty cent piece. Harry was surprised to open larger parcel to find a sweater and some homemade fudge from Ron's mother. Harry and Ron maintained contact through letters and during free time and classes, but he had never expected Ron would say anything to his mother about Harry not expecting Christmas gifts. He was very warmed by the gesture.

Even Hermione, whom Harry felt friendly toward for have survived the troll encounter with her, had sent him a large box of Chocolate Frogs. Terence had also sent Harry a large box of candy, and Blaise gifted him his own copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"What is that?" asked Blaise when Harry opened the final package and something fluid and silvery flowed out.

Harry picked up the material. It was very light and silky.

"That's an invisibility cloak," said Blaise, his voice full of awe and his mouth hanging open.

Harry tried the cloak on. To his surprise, when he glanced down at his body, it wasn't there.

Eventually, after Blaise and Harry had tried the cloak on and were contemplating its various uses, they found the note that been wrapped in the parcel. There was no signature nor any other indication of who it was from, only that the cloak had belonged to Harry's father.

Harry would have been much more preoccupied with the cloak had it not been for the Christmas feast. He had never seen so much delicious food in one place. And since there were so few students staying for the holidays, the House tables were forgone and everyone sat together. Harry was quite glad for the opportunity to meet Ron's brothers.

After dinner, the Weasleys gathered outside for a snowball fight, which even Blaise had to join in after the twins, Fred and George bombarded him when he refused to participate. As Blaise lobbed a snowball in Harry's direction, Harry was glad to see he was enjoying himself.

They were both happy to retire in from of the Slytherin common room fireplace, thawing out from the wet and the cold. They played chess again, and Harry was disappointed to find that even after gaining his own chess set from one of the wizard crackers, he still lost horribly.

"It's all about strategy," said Blaise as he tried to help. "You have to stay at least one step ahead of your opponent."

Harry secretly doubted he had the head for strategy.

Eventually, full of food and having experienced his best Christmas ever, Harry fell onto his four-poster bed. But he couldn't sleep. The cloak kept nagging him.

He waited until he was certain Blaise had drifted off, and then he got out of bed and put on the cloak. He felt suddenly invigorated. He could do anything in this cloak, go anywhere he wanted. The only question was exactly what he should do.

And then he remembered Famel.

* * *

It was freezing when Harry and Blaise traveled the castle the next night, but Harry was determined to find the mirror he had found the night before. His trek to the restricted section of the library had ended in near disaster. After running from both Filch and Snape, Harry had happened upon a room with a mysterious that mirror that showed him, for the first time, the faces of his family.

"Let's forget it and go back," said Blaise after they had been searching for hours.

"No!" Harry hissed. "It's here somewhere."

At last, they found it. Harry pushed the door open and ran from the cloak to stand before the mirror. His mother and father beamed down at the sight of him.

"See?" said Harry, turning to Blaise.

"I only see you," said Blaise.

Harry stepped aside so Blaise could stand where he was. Blaise's eyes widened.

"See?" said Harry again. "That's my fa-"

"No," said Blaise shaking his head. "That's me and my mum."

"You're with your family," said Harry.

"No," said Blaise again. "It's just us, and I'm shaking hands with the Minister of Magic."

"What?"

"Yeah," said Blaise. "And there's someone taking pictures - do you think this mirror show the future?"

"How can it?" said Harry. "My family are dead - let me see -"

"You had it all last night!" Blaise protested.

"What's so special about shaking hands with the Minister of Magic?" Harry insisted.

"Don't push-!"

There was a sudden noise, and both Blaise and Harry dove for the invisibility cloak.

* * *

Harry returned to the dormitory late after another night trip to the mirror. Blaise had stayed behind, telling Harry not to go, insistent that something about the mirror wasn't right.

And it would seem Blaise had been correct, for Albus Dumbledore had found Harry gazing at the mirror and had told him of its haunting power.

But it was something else Dumbledore had said that made Harry pause at the foot of Blaise's four-poster before moving on to his own.

When Harry, who wanted nothing more than a proper family, stood in front of the mirror, he saw his family members standing around him. When Blaise, who had lived his whole life with short-lived stepfathers, stood in front of the mirror, he saw himself successful enough that his mother no longer needed the riches of her late husbands to support the two of them. Blaise saw himself able to support them both, the two of them living as mother and son, the proper family that Blaise longed for.

Harry tried to imagine living with Aunt Petunia and her bringing home a new husband every few years. He realized that his life probably wouldn't have been much different. He was certain he'd still have his cupboard under the stairs, still be treated as the family's dirty secret. But what would it be like for Dudley? To have a new stepfather every few years? To perhaps never know his real father? To never be able to grow close to the new father figure in his life for fear he would soon meet the same fate as the men who came before him? And what would he think of his mother? Would he understand or resent her need to provide for him?

Blaise never talked much about his family, and when he did, he only spoke of his mother. And now Harry understood why. It wouldn't be much of a family life, he realized. And, as he crawled into bed, Dumbledore's words that he should never go looking for the mirror again and the images of his parents faces running through his head, he thought if he had the choice, he wouldn't choose Blaise's family situation over his own.


End file.
